(The Hale-Elmore-Seibels House, c. 1796, oldest in Columbia, S.C., home of Duck Creek.)
Duck Creek Technologies (Columbia, S.C.) has announced that it has completed the purchase of Agencyport (Boston). Newly formed with the close of the joint venture between Apax Partners (London), a global private equity firm and Accenture (New York) on August 1, Duck Creek plans to accelerate the design and development of property/casualty insurance technologies to better serve customers and the market, according to a company statement.
Mike Jackowski, CEO, Duck Creek Technologies.
Duck Creek characterizes Agencyport’s offerings as complementing its suite of core insurance systems. Agencyport solutions focus on providing intuitive, digital experiences between P&C carriers and their agents, brokers, consumers and policyholders—anytime, anywhere and from any device, according to the statement. Agencyport’s flagship products include AgencyPortal, Turnstile, and BookSmart.
Duck Creek reports that, for carriers using third-party or homegrown back-end systems, Agencyport products will be available as independent solutions, providing the ability to front-end any billing, claims or policy system. Those insurers using both Duck Creek and Agencyport products will benefit from a highly-integrated, comprehensive digital platform with an option to access the solution via Duck Creek On-Demand, a differentiated Software as a Service model, the Duck Creek statement says.
“There has never been a more important time for insurance companies to embrace new technologies that will secure their future competitiveness,” comments Michael A. Jackowski, CEO, Duck Creek Technologies. “Working with Accenture and Apax, we look forward to continued development and added investments that will deliver true innovation for our customers and the insurance industry. Together, Duck Creek and Agencyport will combine our expertise to design and deliver the digital solutions that meet the expectations and needs of our customers now and well into the future.”
Curt Stevenson, formerly Agencyport’s CEO and now a member of Duck Creek’s management team, characterizes the acquisition as win-win for both Duck Creek and Agencyport customers. “Today’s insurance carrier increasingly requires a nimble solution set that can keep pace on a multitude of fast-evolving fronts that include customer expectations, technology shifts, and business models and demands,” he says. “Our industry-leading independent software portal with its world-class user experience, and Duck Creeks’ best of breed software suite and the open digital architecture it sits on, is a powerful opportunity for carriers. No other company has the kind of carrier and agent knowledge or digital know-how it takes to guide insurers through the complexities ahead.”
Apax Holds Majority Stake in Duck Creek
Funds advised by Apax Partners hold approximately a 60 percent stake in Duck Creek Technologies and Accenture retains approximately 40 percent. The firm reports that funds it advises will provide Duck Creek with capital to accelerate the development and expansion of property/casualty technologies and Accenture will collaborate on solutions involving the Internet of Things, Big Data analytics and other emerging technologies. Accenture will remain a premier platinum delivery partner for Duck Creek Technologies.